Thinking Outside the Box
by elementalv
Summary: Zachariah hates humans. Spoilers for 5.04, "The End."


Zachariah hates humans. He hates their filthy ways, and he hates their disrespect for all that is holy and good in the world. Even those who purport to love God don't know what it is to _truly_ love God. His vessel was one such deluded fool, a mud monkey who had managed to rise above quite a few other mud monkeys before growing a conscience and offering himself up to God's service. Zachariah sneers at the man's soul, trapped beneath the glory of Zachariah's grace and whimpering in terror every time Zachariah deigns to notice him.

Harvey Kramer is right to be afraid. His behavior throughout most of his life would have been enough to consign him to Hell, were it not for his late repentance. Even so, Zachariah is still tempted to keep the man's soul from entering the fields of the Lord when the time comes. It's not that Harvey's guilt is false nor his desire for redemption insincere, because Zachariah knows full well that Harvey's conversion was as real as it gets. But Zachariah has never subscribed to his Father's notion of forgiveness following sincere regret, and given Harvey's truly appalling behavior in the past, Zachariah isn't in the mood to do anything other than ensure Harvey is punished for as long and as creatively as possible within the rules.

He sighs, thinking what a great loss Hell suffered when Castiel gripped the tatters of Dean Winchester's soul and raised it out of damnation. He'd shown a remarkable clarity of purpose when it came to making other souls suffer, and Zachariah doesn't doubt he would have made Harvey into yet another work of art.

Zachariah lets some of his thoughts leak through to Harvey, and Harvey starts screaming and whimpering and begging for forgiveness. It's something Zachariah never tires of listening to, because like it or not, Harvey _will_, in fact, go to the fields of the Lord one day. It's part of the covenant between angel and vessel, and there's nothing Zachariah can (or will) do to break the agreement. But there's nothing that says Zachariah can't break the former occupant of his vessel, so tormenting Harvey is always the name of the game whenever Michael's Vessel is particularly vexatious.

Just the thought of that title, "Michael's Vessel," is enough to soothe Zachariah's feathers. Unlike the Rebel or Zachariah or even Raphael, Michael will take full command over his vessel, and Dean will, at last, understand what it is to be bent and broken to God's will.

Well.

Broken to the angels' will, which, when all is said and done, is essentially the same thing. It's a day Zachariah has been looking forward to since the Rebel stole Michael's Vessel right out from underneath their collective nose, a thought which makes Zachariah's ire rise yet again and Harvey cringe as far away as he can (it isn't far, because with two of them, there isn't very much room left). With scarcely a thought, Zachariah puts Harvey to sleep for the time being. He's the last person on Earth who needs to know just how anxious Zachariah gets when he thinks about the Rebel's return.

Zachariah was absolutely certain he'd been killed; an angel's death was no small thing in the cosmos, and rebel or not, Castiel had been an angel. The only thing left of him was that ridiculous coat he'd insisted on wearing everywhere, just because it made him instantly recognizable to Dean Winchester. Zachariah chuckles, thinking that the coat isn't the only thing left of the Rebel's original vessel. Jimmy Novak is still hanging around and will never get into Heaven if Zachariah has anything to do with it. It's one thing for an angel to break covenant with a willing vessel, but as far as Zachariah is concerned, Jimmy Novak broke covenant first, when he blasphemed during his brief period of autonomy. It was enough, at least, to prevent Jimmy from moving on. Instead, he's haunting the last remnant of his human existence, a remnant that currently hangs in Chuck's front hall. One of these days, Chuck will discover Jimmy's ghost, and he'll burn the coat to get rid of him. As far as Zachariah is concerned, that will be a _good_ day.

A better day will be when Zachariah gets his hands on the Rebel and _ensures_ his death is final. Zachariah still shudders every time he thinks of the Rebel's reappearance and what that could possibly mean. For a mercifully brief time, he'd thought that the Father had truly brought the Rebel back, and then he thought Lucifer had been responsible. Now, though, he thinks that if that little bastard Raphael had done his job to begin with, there would have been nothing of the Rebel left to rebuild. With the Rebel actually gone, Michael would now be walking the Earth as he should be instead of constantly nagging Zachariah about where Dean Winchester might be.

He knows that the Rebel is in touch with Michael's Vessel in some fashion, but Zachariah has no idea how to tap into that particular resource. Instead, he and the others are reduced to standing on street corners in the hope of seeing that ridiculous car turn the corner. Random chance is an absurd thing for any angel to hope for, and Zachariah adds it to the tally he's made of Dean Winchester's sins. Once Michael takes possession, Zachariah will give him the list and let Michael take care of meting out appropriate punishment.

The Impala isn't in Poughkeepsie, so Zachariah wills himself to yet another town, and it's there that he experiences Revelation in the form of a bitter old man named Franklin Helmond. Franklin is sixty-two years old and has used God as a cudgel for most of his life. He's convinced that everyone who isn't him is going to Hell, and he's more than willing to share that tidbit with everyone who passes him by in this decrepit neighborhood. A man like Franklin Helmond, if approached in the right way, would be more than willing to serve as a tool of God. In fact, Zachariah is certain that all the others who stand on street corners decrying the state of the world could serve as his eyes as well.

It's a new concept, using mud monkeys for something this important, but Zachariah thinks it's an important one. More importantly, this idea has the tang of Divine Revelation, which Zachariah hasn't tasted in nearly five hundred years. He feels like he's on the right track with this idea, and it will certainly free up angels who are urgently needed at the front lines.

A short while later, an army of angels has created an even larger army of informants. Dean Winchester will pass by one or more of them sooner or later, and when he does, Zachariah will find him at last and be able to convince him to grant permission for Michael to enter him and crush the rebellion right out of his soul.

Zachariah hates humans, hates what they've done, but he's more than happy to use them in the redemption of Earth, of his Father's most beautiful creation.


End file.
